


Dog Pics

by markijack



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Evan is not based on a real person obviously, Homophobia, Homophobic Slurs, M/M, Minor Violence, Slut-Shaming Slurs, Texting, brief suicide mention, like the payoff is really negligible i'm sorry, name was chosen randomly, very little actual septiplier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 07:32:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17076053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/markijack/pseuds/markijack
Summary: When someone puts Jack's phone number on the bathroom wall, he expects to get some pretty terrible text messages. And he does. But he gets a pretty nice one, too.TW for bullying, including homophobic slurs.





	Dog Pics

**Author's Note:**

> I started this MONTHS ago, based on a tweet about someone who had a random stranger text them pictures of a pet on bad days, and it kind of expanded out from there. I'm so glad I finally came back and finished it; HUGE thanks to everyone on Discord who inspired me to do so by talking about texting fics, which reminded me that I had this one collecting dust in my Google Drive.
> 
> Mark's texts are in bold, Jack's are in italic

Jack stared at the bathroom wall, willing himself not to cry. That would be the worst thing he could do.

He hadn’t believed it- not when he started to notice people jeering at him in the halls; not when one of his friends had pulled him aside and warned him; not even when he felt his phone start to vibrate with numerous incoming messages.

But there was no denying what was right in front of him. Written in huge letters on the wall of one of the stalls, like a bad movie come to life: SEAN MCLOUGHLIN IS A FAG SLUT. And then, plain as day, his phone number.

“What the fuck, Evan?!” he whispered. Jack’s ex- he was the only one who could be behind this. No one else who would have done this sort of thing could have known his phone number.

The relationship had lasted a whopping two and a half months. Jack was only out to a couple close friends- not even his family yet- and Evan wasn’t out to anyone at all. At first, it seemed like a good thing, that secrecy would bring them closer together. They’d been so careful at school and around town. And then they’d gone to see a movie, and in the dark, quiet theater, Jack had leaned in and given Evan a quick kiss on the cheek and for just one second everything in the world had seemed so wonderful, seeing a grin spread on his then-boyfriend’s face in the glow of the giant screen.

And then a voice from behind them: “Don’t you two look cozy?”

They’d whipped around to see no less than three guys from school. They must have been a few rows behind them, but they’d crept up after seeing the kiss.

Jack’s mouth had gone dry- what could he say? He’d looked back at Evan, wondering if he’d be able to find a way out.

And oh boy, did he ever.

The eyes that had met Jack’s weren’t panicked like he’d been expecting; they were angry and cold. “I was just telling this fag to leave me alone,” he’d said in a voice loud enough to draw the attention of the entire audience. Without breaking eye contact, he’d shoved Jack away from him, hard enough that the bag of popcorn in his lap had tumbled down to the floor and spilled everywhere. “Knew I shouldn’t have come here with you. Fucking freak. Leave me alone.” And then he’d stood and walked away, Jack still speechless in his seat, the laughter from those three jerks ringing in his ears so loud that the dialogue of the movie sounded far away.

They hadn’t spoken since.

Seeing it on the wall was like being betrayed all over again. Clearly, there was still some suspicion around the “Jack came on to my poor helpless heterosexual self” bullshit Evan was trying to sell. The guys in the theater might have noticed that he didn’t push Jack away until he was caught. So, Evan went for a repeat performance of Throwing Jack Under the Bus. The graffiti would be such big gossip that it would take the heat off of him for a while.

He wanted to confront Evan about it, but he knew it was a terrible idea. The more Jack pushed him, the more he’d try to ruin Jack’s life. He thought about sending him an angry text message but…

There was no getting around it: he was afraid to check his phone. It was buzzing pretty continuously now, and Jack could only imagine what those messages said.

He waited until he was home, and locked in his room to open them. It wasn’t pretty. There were crude photoshops of his face onto pornography, long quotes from Leviticus, dick pics, and God, so many messages.

“How much to suck this?” (attached was a picture of an underwhelming penis)

“kys”

“How many guys have gotten lucky with the leprechaun?”

A few people wrote kind things, too.

“Hi, I’m in your English class and wanted to say you’re a really nice guy and I’m sorry if people are being assholes to you right now - people at this school are so dumb.”

“Hey! This is Natalie - I’m the pres of the gay/straight alliance and just wanted to reach out and say our door is always open. Sorry if that’s weird but you should know we’ll help you anyway you can. We meet on Tuesdays, but you can text me anytime!”

On a rational level, he was grateful for those messages, but he couldn’t help but feel even more humiliated. They were a reminder that everyone knew, that all anyone in the entire school could think about was him being gay.

The only one that really made him smile was one person who sent pictures of a golden retriever, only writing ‘T **his is my dog; thought you might like to see her today!** ’ This was also the only person Jack wrote back to, replying, ‘ _Aw, I loved seeing her! Please pet her and let her know she is a v good girl!_ ’

**She was v grateful for the pats!**

The texts died down steadily over the next few days until finally stopping on Thursday. It wasn’t like people forgot; he still heard derisive laughter when he walked by certain people in the hallways and the girl he sat next to in Chemistry, who he used to be pretty friendly with, now refused to talk to or look at him. So, not good, but better, at least. Under control.

He hadn’t replied to the person with the dog again, but to his surprise, he got another message.

**Have you ever noticed that one of those weird abstract paintings the art students hung near the back staircase looks like a parrot smoking a blunt?**

_NO BUT NOW IT’S ALL I CAN SEE_

**THANK YOU! My friends said I was crazy!**

_I actually know the guy who painted that and honestly he probably did that on purpose._

**Conspiracy theory: YOU painted it.**

_I wish- I’m not talented at all!_

**I don’t believe that.**

_???? What?? Why not? Do I know you???_

**No, you just seem like a wonderful person :)**

_Is this flirting am I being catfished?_

**I paid you one (1) compliment.**

_Surely a scam. A ploy. Dateline warned me about situations like these._

**Even if I was flirting with you - which I’m noooot- why would that be catfishing?**

_Because it would probably be someone I know messing with me? Who else would it be?_  
_Unless you’re trying to get nudes. Is this sexting?_

**I’m sorry I called you ‘wonderful’ I didn’t know that this was a christian conversation.**

_I am terminating this discussion before you dare to use such sinful language towards me again_  
_(and also because I have class and don’t want my phone taken away. Ttyl, maybe)_  
_if you learn to behave_

But they didn’t text for a few days, and it was Jack who initiated it this time.

_Hey- hope I’m not bothering you but I had kind of a bad day. Can I see your dog again?_

**Yeah ofc - I’m not home to take a pic of her but here’s one of my faves! Hope it helps.**

_Thanks, sorry if you were busy._

**Nah. Always time for puppos!**

_Send dog pics not dick pics._

**Amen to that, dude.**

He decided to let the stranger go back to whatever he (or she?) was doing, but later that night he texted back: _hey since I don’t know who you are I had to get creative with naming your contact_ and attached a screenshot showing that he had named his correspondent ‘dog pic dealer’

**Not cool, man! That’s too conspicuous - the DEA (dogpic enforcement agency) has been after me for years!**

_Gotcha, scumbug! I’ve been an undercover agent this entire time!_

**What can I do to change your mind, officer?**

_I thought we established that this was a PG conversation!!!_

**Can’t blame a guy for trying to get out of some jail time.**

_...so you’re a guy?_

**...yeah? Is that not ok?**

_No, it’s fine! I just didn’t know. ‘Dog pic dealer’ is a gender-neutral term._  
_But I can change it to ‘secret admirer’ if you’d like ;)_

**You can call me whatever you want, baby.**

_I’m still sending you to prison for your crimes._

**Damnit.**

A few days later, when Jack went to school with his hair newly dyed, he heard from the mystery man again.

**I like the green.**

_Oh, come on, you have to know that’s creepy, right? This is some horror movie shit._

**We go to a tiny school and your hair is neon fucking green now. Are you really shocked I noticed?!**

_It’s weird that you were looking right at me and I had no idea!!! I maintain that this is stalker-esque behavior!_

**Well, I maintain that it suits you very well.**

_...thank you, whoever you are._

**:)**

At some point it just became the routine. They’d chat about something silly, a few days would pass, and then one of them would come back with something new to talk about. The strangest part was that when they were texting, that’s when Jack cared the least who it was. When he was sitting in class, bored, or lying awake at night, he found his mind flipped desperately through everyone he went to school with, trying to figure out who it might be, but when they were actually texting back and forth, it somehow never really came up. Like it didn’t even matter. The guy sent a new picture of the golden retriever at least once a week, and Jack saved them all. He had to admit that every time he heard a text alert, he hoped it was from this guy, and when it was, he got so… giddy. He knew it wasn’t a good idea to fall for someone so anonymous. This could be the creepiest guy in school. This could be one of the homophobes from the cinema pulling a prank on him.

One particular possibility was so bad that he had to just outright ask. _This isn’t Evan, is it?_

**No, why? Which Evan did you think I was?**

_Um, Evan from the basketball team? Some bad blood there._

**I can’t imagine you having ‘bad blood’ with anyone. You’re too nice!**

_Well, my number didn’t put itself on that wall._

**Wait, did he do that?!**

_Um, yeah. It’s kind of a long story, and he has his own issues, I guess, but we dated for a while and he ended up screwing me over to make himself look better._

There was a pause before he got an answer.

**He’s not what I would call ‘good-looking’ to begin with. You’re out of his league!**

_Ok, now you’re just flirting with me. This IS a creepy sexting thing!_

**You caught me!**  
**No, but seriously, fuck that guy. You deserve better.**

_You barely know me._  
_I assume. I still have a healthy suspicion you’re someone I know who’s catfishing me._

**Texting a nice, funny person is enough to know that they deserve someone who respects them.**  
**Also, we’ve never talked in real life so I don’t think I’m a catfish.**

This time it was Jack who took a minute to think about what to say.

_Is it weird if I’m disappointed? I’m happy you’re not just someone laughing at me, but I wish I could talk to you in real life. Is there a reason you won’t tell me who you are?_

**You never directly asked.**

_I’m asking now._

The typing bubbles appeared, disappeared, reappeared, then disappeared again. Jack waited, staring at his phone like some girl in a lovesick 90’s song. But they didn’t come back, and the rest of the night passed without a response. He went to bed wondering if he’d messed up, if the mysterious guy was gone for good. He couldn’t stop himself from thinking that he would never know who it was.

And then the next day, Mark Fischbach, a guy a year older than Jack who he’d seen around but never actually spoken to, got into a fight with Evan before school.

At least, that was what he heard. As soon as he got to school, he could tell that something had happened - everyone seemed to be gossiping with each other. After asking around (and doing a little eavesdropping), he heard that Mark had bumped into Evan and knocked him over as he was walking to school, in a way that some people said looked pretty intentional, and when confronted about it, refused to apologize, telling Evan he was the one who should’ve watched where he was going, and they both got angrier and angrier until someone threw a punch. No one could agree on who hit who first, but it ended with Evan on the ground with a bloody nose. It did seem generally agreed on that Mark “was acting weird” and “wasn’t usually the fighting type.”

It couldn’t be a coincidence. Or could it?

He opened the conversation with ‘dog pic dealer,’ typed out ‘was that you??’ and then erased it, tried, ‘are you Mark?’ but that sounded dumb, so did ‘Mark is this you’ - he didn’t know this guy! And what if it only pushed him further away? He clearly didn’t want to tell Jack who he was.

But Jack had to know. It was killing him. He tried to think of someway, any way, that he could figure it out without asking directly. What did he know about the guy he was texting? Just that he had a dog.

...did Mark have a dog?

He didn’t really know any of Mark’s friends. The only one he’d ever really talked to was Ethan, who he sat behind in math. He was friendly enough, though, and he’d even been one of the people to send him a nice message when Evan had first posted his number: “Hi Jack - I hope this isn’t your real number but if it is I wanted to apologize for whatever shit the douchebags of this shitty school are probably sending you and let you know I’m always around if you need someone to text/hang out with. It’s Ethan from Trig btw!” Would it be so weird to ask him about one of his friends?

He deliberated the entire morning, until he and Ethan were seated in their class a few minutes before the bell rang and he decided to just go for it. After Jack tapped his shoulder, he turned around with a cheerful, “what’s up, dude?”

“Hey, you’re friends with Mark Fischbach, right?”

Ethan frowned. “Yeah, but before you ask, I don’t know what happened between him and that Evan kid this morning.”

“Oh, no, I just had a weird question: does he have any pets? I’m supposed to his place to work on a project and I’m allergic to cats.”

“No cats! He does have a dog, though - she’s a golden retriever. Are you ok with those?”

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “That’s good.”

“Good. And listen, don’t let what happened earlier freak you out, okay? I don’t know what happened, but Mark’s never like that. He’s a really nice guy, I promise.”

Jack just nodded. He knew Mark was a nice guy too, because apparently he’d been texting him for the last month.

Later, on his way to lunch, he noticed Mark walking into the library. He followed him without hesitation, until he saw Mark sit down in an isolated area towards the back of the stacks and take a sandwich out of his backpack. He walked up to him… and totally lost his nerve. The blind courage that had carried him here abandoned him as he was faced with trying to find something to say. “Um, hi,” was all he could manage.

Mark looked up at him and smiled. “Hi.”

“Can I eat with you?”

“Might be a good idea - Ethan was just asking me about a project we’re supposed to be working on together.” Jack blushed, but Mark was still smiling. “We don’t have to eat here if you don’t want to, though. I just thought it might be best for me to avoid everyone in the cafeteria right now, given recent events.”

It seemed they were dropping pretenses, so Jack sat next to him and murmured, “you shouldn’t have done that.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t, like, planning it or anything. I just saw him and started thinking about what a dick he was, and how he got away with it. I didn’t mean to stick my nose where it didn’t belong.”

“It’s not that, I just don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“I think it’s fine. I had to go to the principal, someone told her, but no faculty actually saw us and we weren’t on school grounds, so all she could really do was give me a warning. I just don’t want you to be mad at me.”

“I’m not mad. He deserved it.”

“He deserved worse.”

Jack just shook his head. He couldn’t fight a little smile; the whole situation was so surreal that it was kind of hilarious. “It never even crossed my mind that it could be you,” he whispered, partly because they were in a library and partly because his voice was so hoarse all of a sudden. “I tried to think of who it could be, but I never thought it would be somebody like you.”

Mark laughed. He didn’t seem as rattled by this encounter, but then again, he’d known who he was talking to all along. “‘Somebody like me?’”

“You know what I mean. Like, I guess I could tell that you were really funny and nice when we were texting, but I just assumed that anyone attractive with that kind of personality wouldn’t be wasting their time on something like this.”

“Who’s flirting now?”

And then Jack laughed for real, because hearing Mark say that out loud made it click somehow, that this was really the person he’d been talking to for a while now, his friend.

“In all seriousness, Jack, I wasn’t wasting my time. I loved talking to you, and I happen to think you’re nice and funny and attractive too.”

“So you had to vanquish my evil ex for my hand?”

“He was vanquished because evil needs vanquishing, but I would certainly be flattered to take your hand, especially if the rest of you is attached to it.”

“Good to know that you’ll always find a way to make it creepy.”

“Good to know you’re not disappointed that it’s me.”

“Is that why you wouldn’t tell me?!”

“Well, yeah.”

“I’m not disappointed. I’m happy I finally got my man.”

Mark choked on his sandwich. “What?!!”

Jack smirked. “My suspect. Hands in the air, buddy. You’re under arrest for possession of dog pics with intent to distribute.”


End file.
